[obol] aba

[Jay Withgott]

Rich and all --

I've lived in a number of states, and Oregon seems about average or 
below average in terms of the proportion of active birders who submit 
lists to ABA.  Some states, such as Massachusetts and Connecticut, 
have far lower rates of participation.  I personally wish more people 
would submit lists to ABA, because the more participation there is, 
the more context each individual's numbers gain, and the more we all 
learn about birders' interests and birding communities in different 
regions.  (The big day lists tend to be more meaningful since there 
is a higher submission rate.)  However, I have been pleased to see 
the far higher rate of list submissions to Oregon Birds, and I feel 
that those annual listings help bind us together as a community.  I 
know I've learned a lot about others' interests and stomping grounds 
from perusing those lists.  Regardless, as Sheran points out, listing 
is for fun.  And certainly not for demonstration of ability, since 
lists reflect more about a person's time, money, and/or priorities 
than about one's skills.  Moreover, most of us who keep lists do it 
to compete with ourselves, not with others.  I keep lists (birds and 
many other taxa) largely because they are a record of what I've 
experienced in nature throughout my life -- and without meticulous 
list-keeping, I would lose far too much to the holey sieve of memory. 
When I'm 95 (tongue in cheek) I want to be able to curl up with my 
lists and decades of trip accounts and relive the highlights of 
nature observation throughout my life (tongue no longer in cheek). 
Whether one reports one's lists to forums such as ABA and OFO along 
the way (I forgot to do either this past year, but usually do) is 
one's own decision.  Participating can only add to the fun.

Jay Withgott, Portland



At 4:39 PM -0700 6/16/08, rich armstrong wrote:
>1. nanette & i am a member of the american birding association (aba).
>2. they publish (as well as monthly "birding" and "winging-it") a big day
>book that includes big years and everyone's life lists, state lists, etc. in
>fact there were 2 complete write ups of the 4 who did oregon big days in
>june 07.
>3. we are trying to increase our oregon list and as of dec 31, 2007 we were
>up to 339 which is at least close to respectable.
>4. in the aba book this ranks us 18th in the state, which is ridiculous,
>because there are many in oregon who are well ahead of us (obviously we are
>also ofo members and see the real  oregon numbers). it has sheran wright as
>#1 by wide margin over paul sherrell.
>5. as of the end of 2006 there would be 80 ahead of us and when 2007 numbers
>are out there will likely be more. so we should be around 85th in state, not
>18th.
>6. coming from texas where a very high % of birders were aba members we are
>surprised at how few birders from oregon are aba members.
>6. now this is not a commercial or some request that you join aba - rather i
>am just letting you all know about the aba lists for those that might be
>interested.
>Rich Armstrong
>541-753-1978
>
>_______________________________________________
>obol mailing list
>obol at oregonbirdwatch.org
>http://oregonbirdwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/obol